The present invention relates generally to the field of building protection devices, and more particularly, is directed to an adjustable, modular window guard suitable for installation over an existing window construction.
The need to protect buildings from unwanted intruders has always existed and great numbers of building protective devices have been designed and installed by prior workers in the art. Of particular interest has been the protection of window openings, which openings have traditionally formed an easy access means into the building for would-be thieves.
The protection of window openings in the past has proceeded along two general approaches. One is to provide stronger and better locking features for the window sash and the other is to furnish and install a separate guard or protective device to restrict access to the sash itself. The present invention is concerned with this latter approach. In order to make such protective devices usable with windows of various sizes, most prior window guards have included telescoping parts to readily adjust to the lateral or vertical window opening dimensions. While such construction features were successful to solve the problem of installation size adjustment, the interlocking, mating parts required rather precise manufacturing standards in order to assure the capability of sliding one part relative to the other. This increased production costs, both because of the greater care in manufacturing that was required and because of the relatively high rate of rejection of improperly made parts.
The telescoping construction of many prior art grills, by its very nature, required the interacting parts to be linear in configuration so that one part could slide relative to the other. This feature resulted in a bar-like or prison-like effect in the completed design, a configuration that was not particularly acceptable in and about a residential property. Additionally, most prior art grills had to be rigidly and permanently affixed in the window opening, thereby effectively preventing any future use of the window as an emergency means of egress in the event of fire or other unwanted occurrence. In those instances wherein the protective grill was designed to be operable, most often a hasp and lock arrangement was employed for this purpose. These very locking features often proved to be the weakest part of the protective construction and were most often subject to direct attack by an intruder.